Clothes dryer

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure discloses a clothes dryer including: a machine body; a drum body, disposed in the machine body and defining a containing chamber therein; an air passage disposed in the machine body and having an air outlet in communication with the containing chamber; and a heat pump system including: a compressor, disposed in the machine body, located outside of the air passage; a first heat exchanger, disposed in the air passage and communicating with a compressor inlet; and a second heat exchanger, disposed in the air passage and communicating with a compressor outlet and the first heat exchanger, in which hot air generated by the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger is transported to the containing chamber through the air outlet of the air passage, and the air passage is provided with at least one through hole in communication with a mounting chamber of the compressor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and benefits of Chinese PatentApplication Serial No. 201510991649.9 and Chinese Patent ApplicationSerial No. 201521096318.0, filed with the State Intellectual PropertyOffice of P. R. China on Dec. 25, 2015, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a technical field of householdelectrical appliances, and particularly to a clothes dryer. BACKGROUND

A current drum-type clothes dryer usually adopts a heat pump system todry clothes. The heat pump system is usually composed of a compressor, acondenser and an evaporator. Usually, heated air is used to dry theclothes after air is heated only by the condenser. However, thecondenser has a limited heating effect on air, so a clothes dryingefficiency is low.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to solve at least one of the above problemsto at least some extent.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a clothes dryer that issimple in structure and high in drying efficiency.

The clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present disclosureincludes a machine body; a drum body, disposed in the machine body anddefining a containing chamber therein; an air passage disposed in themachine body and having an air outlet in communication with thecontaining chamber; and a heat pump system including: a compressor,disposed in the machine body, located outside of the air passage, andhaving a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet; a first heatexchanger, disposed in the air passage and communicating with thecompressor inlet; and a second heat exchanger, disposed in the airpassage and communicating with the compressor outlet and the first heatexchanger, in which hot air generated by the first heat exchanger andthe second heat exchanger is transported to the containing chamberthrough the air outlet of the air passage, and the air passage isprovided with at least one through hole in communication with a mountingchamber of the compressor.

With the clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the at least one through hole is provided in the air passageto make the air passage communicate with the mounting chamber, so as tomake heat in the mounting chamber enter the air passage to accelerate atemperature rising speed of air in the air passage, thus raising autilization efficiency of the heat during a working process of theclothes dryer, and raising a drying efficiency of the clothes dryer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the clothes dryerfurther includes a motor, disposed in the machine body, located outsideof the air passage, and having a motor shaft; and an impeller, disposedon the motor shaft, and located between the air outlet and thecontaining chamber to guide an air flow in the air passage into thecontaining chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one through holeis provided in a position of the air passage close to the compressor andthe motor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the through holehas an axis located between the compressor and the motor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one through holeis provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger and located close to the compressor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the through holeis right opposite the compressor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least onethrough hole comprises a first through hole and a second through hole,the first through hole is provided in a position of the air passageclose to the compressor and the motor, and the second through hole islocated between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first throughhole has an axis located between the compressor and the motor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second throughhole is right opposite the compressor.

Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of present disclosurewill be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent inpart from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice ofthe embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from thedescriptions of embodiments made with reference to the followingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a clothes dryer according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

Reference numerals:

clothes dryer 100;

machine body 10;

drum body 20; containing chamber 21;

air passage 30; air outlet 32;

compressor 41; compressor inlet 411; compressor outlet 412; first heatexchanger 42; second heat exchanger 43;

first through hole 51; second through hole 52;

motor 60; motor shaft 61;

impeller 70;

mounting chamber 80.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of the embodiments are shown in the drawings. The same orsimilar elements and the elements having same or similar functions aredenoted by like reference numerals throughout the descriptions. Theembodiments described herein with reference to drawings are explanatory,illustrative, and used to generally understand the present disclosure.The embodiments shall not be construed to limit the present disclosure.

In the following, a clothes dryer 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure is described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the clothes dryer 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure may include a machine body 10, a drum body 20, anair passage 30 and a heat pump system.

Specifically, the drum body 20 is disposed in the machine body 10 anddefines a containing chamber 21 therein. The air passage 30 is disposedin the machine body 10 and has an air outlet 32, and the air outlet 32is in communication with the containing chamber 21.

The heat pump system may include a compressor 41, a first heat exchanger42 and a second heat exchanger 43. The compressor 41 is disposed in themachine body 10 and located outside of the air passage 30. Thecompressor 41 has a compressor inlet 411 and a compressor outlet 412.The first heat exchanger 42 and the second heat exchanger 43 are bothdisposed in the air passage 30, the first heat exchanger 42 is incommunication with the compressor inlet 411, and the second heatexchanger 43 is in communication with the compressor outlet 412. Arefrigerant in the compressor 41, the first heat exchanger 42 and thesecond heat exchanger 43 releases a lot of heat during conversion from agaseous refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant, the heat may heat airentering the air passage 30, and heated air is transported into thecontaining chamber 21 to dry clothes in the containing chamber 21. Aspecific work principle of the clothes dryer 100 can be understood bythose skilled in the art, and will not described in detail herein.

The air passage 30 may be provided with at least one through hole incommunication with a mounting chamber 80 of the compressor 41. That is,one or more through holes are provided between the air passage 30 andthe mounting chamber 80. In this way, heat generated during a workingprocess of the compressor 41 can enter the air passage 30 through thethrough holes, to accelerate a temperature rising speed of air in theair passage 30. A fan may be provided in the mounting chamber 80, toaccelerate an air flowing speed in the mounting chamber 80, so as tomake hot air around the compressor 41 enter the air passage 30 morequickly.

With the clothes dryer 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the at least one through hole is provided in the air passage30 to make the air passage 30 communicate with the mounting chamber 80,so as to make heat in the mounting chamber 80 enter the air passage 30to accelerate the temperature rising speed of the air in the air passage30, thus raising a utilization efficiency of the heat during a workingprocess of the clothes dryer 100, and raising a drying efficiency of theclothes dryer 100.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the clothes dryer mayfurther include a motor 60 and an impeller 70. The motor 60 is disposedin the machine body 10 and located outside of the air passage 30, andthe motor has a motor shaft 61. The impeller 70 is disposed to the motorshaft 61 and located between the air outlet 32 and the containingchamber 21, to guide air flow in the air passage 30 into the containingchamber 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motor 60 may be disposed in the mounting chamber80, the motor shaft 61 has a first end connected with the motor 60 and asecond end connected with the impeller 70 after penetrating through theair passage 30. The motor 60 drives the impeller 70 to rotate andaccelerate the air flow in the air passage 30, thus raising the amountof hot air entering the containing chamber 21 per unit time, and raisingthe drying efficiency of the clothes dryer 100.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the air passage 30may be provided with one through hole, and the through hole may beprovided in a position of the air passage 30 close to the compressor 41and the motor 60. In this way, heat generated by the compressor 41 andthe motor 60 during work may enter the air passage 30 through thethrough hole, thus further raising the temperature rising speed of theair in the air passage 30, and raising the drying efficiency of theclothes dryer 100.

Further, the through hole has an axis located between the compressor 41and the motor 60. In this way, heat irradiated from the compressor 41and the motor 60 to the surrounding may enter the air passage 30 evenly,to avoid that part of the heat remains in local areas of the mountingchamber 80 and that locally excessive heat in the compressor 41 or themotor 60 influence normal work.

In another specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the airpassage 30 may be provided with only one through hole, and the throughhole may be provided between the first heat exchanger 42 and the secondheat exchanger 43 and located close to the compressor 41. A fan may beprovided in the mounting chamber 80, and the impeller 70 may be providedat the downstream of the air passage 30. Such design is advantageous inthat hot air in the mounting chamber 80 may be driven by the fan toenter the air passage 30 quickly, to converge with heat released by thefirst heat exchanger 42 and the second heat exchanger 43, and that a lotof hot air is driven by the impeller 70 to enter the containing chamber21 quickly, to raise a drying speed of clothes in the containing chamber21. It can be understood that the above description is explanatory andis not constructed to limit the present disclosure.

In another specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the throughhole may be right opposite the compressor 41, thus further raising thetemperature rising speed of the air in the air passage 30, and raising adrying efficiency of clothes in the containing chamber 21.

In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the through holesmay include a first through hole 51 and a second through hole 52, inwhich the first through hole 51 may be provided in a position of the airpassage 30 close to the compressor 41 and the motor 60, and the secondthrough hole 52 may be located between the first heat exchanger 42 andthe second heat exchanger 43.

In other words, part of hot air in the mounting chamber 80 may enter theair passage 30 through the first through hole 51, and the other part ofthe hot air in the mounting chamber 80 may enter the air passage 30through the second through hole 52. The hot air can enter the airpassage 30 through the first through hole 51 and the second through hole52 at the same time, so as to raise a speed of the hot air entering theair passage 30, to make a temperature of the air in the air passage 30rise quickly and transport the air into the containing chamber 21continuously, thus further raising the drying efficiency of the clothesdryer 100. The first through hole 51 has an axis located between thecompressor 41 and the motor 60. The second through hole 52 may be rightopposite the compressor 41.

Other configurations and operation of the clothes dryer 100 according toembodiments of the present disclosure are known for those skilled in theart, which will not be described in detail herein.

In the specification, it is to be understood that terms such as“bottom,” “inner,” and “outer,” should be construed to refer to theorientation as then described or as shown in the drawings underdiscussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description anddo not require that the present invention be constructed or operated ina particular orientation.

In addition, terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein forpurposes of description and are not intended to indicate or implyrelative importance or significance or to imply the number of indicatedtechnical features. Thus, the feature defined with “first” and “second”may comprise one or more of this feature. In the description of thepresent invention, “a plurality of” means two or more than two, unlessspecified otherwise.

In the present invention, unless specified or limited otherwise, theterms “mounted,” “connected,” “coupled,” “fixed” and the like are usedbroadly, and may be, for example, fixed connections, detachableconnections, or integral connections; may also be mechanical orelectrical connections; may also be direct connections or indirectconnections via intervening structures; may also be inner communicationsof two elements, which can be understood by those skilled in the artaccording to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless specified or limited otherwise, astructure in which a first feature is “on” or “below” a second featuremay include an embodiment in which the first feature is in directcontact with the second feature, and may also include an embodiment inwhich the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contactwith each other, but are contacted via an additional feature formedtherebetween. Furthermore, a first feature “on,” “above,” or “on top of”a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature isright or obliquely “on,” “above,” or “on top of” the second feature, orjust means that the first feature is at a height higher than that of thesecond feature; while a first feature “below,” “under,” or “on bottomof” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the firstfeature is right or obliquely “below,” “under,” or “on bottom of” thesecond feature, or just means that the first feature is at a heightlower than that of the second feature.

Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment,” “someembodiments,” “an example,” “a specific example,” or “some examples,”means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment or example is included in atleast one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, theappearances of the phrases in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment orexample of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in anysuitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore,different embodiments or examples in thus specification can be jointedand combined by those skilled in the art.

Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it wouldbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodimentscannot be construed to limit the present disclosure, and changes,alternatives, and modifications can be made in the embodiments withoutdeparting from spirit, principles and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clothes dryer, comprising: a machine body; adrum body, disposed in the machine body and defining a containingchamber therein; an air passage disposed in the machine body and havingan air outlet in communication with the containing chamber; and a heatpump system, comprising: a compressor, disposed in the machine body,located outside of the air passage, and having a compressor inlet and acompressor outlet; a first heat exchanger, disposed in the air passageand communicating with the compressor inlet; and a second heatexchanger, disposed in the air passage and communicating with thecompressor outlet and the first heat exchanger, wherein hot airgenerated by the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger istransported to the containing chamber through the air outlet of the airpassage, and the air passage is provided with at least one through holein communication with a mounting chamber of the compressor of the leastone through hole.
 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a motor, disposed in the machine body, located outside ofthe air passage, and having a motor shaft; and an impeller, disposed onthe motor shaft, and located between the air outlet and the containingchamber to guide an air flow in the air passage into the containingchamber.
 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein one throughhole is provided in a position of the air passage close to thecompressor and the motor.
 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3,wherein the through hole has an axis located between the compressor andthe motor.
 5. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein onethrough hole is provided between the first heat exchanger and the secondheat exchanger and located close to the compressor.
 6. The clothes dryeraccording to claim 5, wherein the through hole is right opposite thecompressor.
 7. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein the atleast one through hole comprises a first through hole and a secondthrough hole, the first through hole is provided in a position of theair passage close to the compressor and the motor, and the secondthrough hole is located between the first heat exchanger and the secondheat exchanger.
 8. The clothes dryer according to claim 7, wherein thefirst through hole has an axis located between the compressor and themotor.
 9. The clothes dryer according to claim 7, wherein the secondthrough hole is right opposite the compressor.